


Oblivious

by reallydontcare4



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: A little bit of angst at the end, Bisexual Jeremy, But mostly fluff, Creeper dude hits on Michael pretty hard at one point, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Gay Michael, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Jeremy, Jeremy doesn't come out to Michael in the fic, M/M, Oblivious Michael, Pining Michael, because he thinks Michael knows he's bi, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 05:12:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11982879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reallydontcare4/pseuds/reallydontcare4
Summary: Jeremy is straight. Painfully so. He's a naturally affectionate person with Michael, given that they're so close, and it was a real problem at first. It's not completely unheard of that Jeremy would grab his hand to lead him somewhere, or rest his head in Michael's lap and grin fondly at him, only to immediately after start ranting about something cute Christine did or whining about how he'll never get a girlfriend. For a little while, it drove Michael insane, the constant physical contact that gave him false hope. Now, though, he's used to it. It doesn't mean anything, so he just plays along. Friends just do stuff like that sometimes, right? The affection is just part of who Jeremy is. He stopped blushing at it a long time ago.Which is why he doesn't think anything of it when Jeremy starts doing all these small physical contacts. Maybe he should have.(Also known as the fic where Michael's so used to Jeremy obliviously doing affectionate things and dismissing it as 'oh, but he's straight' that he doesn't realize Jeremy thinks they're dating.)





	Oblivious

Michael's been best friends with Jeremy for a long time. Hell, he's known the kid for 13 years now, and they've been through some hard times together and survived. He knows that his friend gets nervous easily, loves video games, and his favorite animal is the dolphin.

 

He also knows that Jeremy's a very oblivious person. You see, Michael's had a very unfortunate crush on his friend for a few years now, and, as far as he knows, Jeremy has yet to catch on at all. Which is good, because it gave Michael time to get used to it and hide it better. Still, the degree to which Jeremy's obliviousness goes is almost laughable. He was genuinely surprised when Michael told him he wasn't straight, even though he'd been wearing a pride patch on his hoodie for years.

 

Another issue with this is that Jeremy is straight. Painfully so. He's a naturally affectionate person with Michael, given that they're so close, and it was a real problem at first. It's not completely unheard of that Jeremy would grab his hand to lead him somewhere, or rest his head in Michael's lap and grin fondly at him, only to immediately after start ranting about something cute Christine did or whining about how he'll never get a girlfriend. For a little while, it drove Michael insane, the constant physical contact that gave him false hope. Now, though, he's used to it. It doesn't mean anything, so he just plays along. Friends just do stuff like that sometimes, right? The affection is just part of who Jeremy is. He stopped blushing at it a long time ago.

 

Which is why he doesn't so much as blink twice at what happens one day while they're walking around the mall. The Squip Squad (as they so dubbed themselves) were just hanging out, looking casually at stores and chatting happily. They'd all become closer together after what had happened last year, and Michael was admittedly surprised to find that they were actually pretty cool people.

 

Michael is sort of lagging behind the others a little, because he sometimes feels like he doesn't belong. He was never squipped, and the others tend to share more in common. They've sort of grouped up, too, where Rich is joking with Jake, Jenna's gossiping to Chloe and Brooke, and Jeremy and Christine are taking the lead talking about some school play. That's okay, though, because Michael's got his headphones on and is cool with just checking out the stores they pass and making comments to himself. It's not the first time he's had to entertain himself alone, after all.

 

All of a sudden, though, Jeremy is beside him, smiling and saying something he can't make out through the music. Michael tilts his head and mouths back a 'what?', and the other boy laughs a little and grabs his hand, pulling him forward.

 

Michael's mind blanks a little at the sudden contact, and he instinctually follows his lead, tugging off his headphones as they go. This is surprising, but not totally unusual. Again, it wasn't the first time they've held hands for a bit, when Jeremy wanted to lead him somewhere or if they were in a large crowd. Plus, Michael reasons, he was lagging behind, and now he's right in the middle of the group with Jeremy. That was probably Jeremy's intention, just to involve him with the others. He knew that Michael felt left out every now and then, so he was probably just being a good friend.

 

As Jeremy stops tugging him forward, Michael automatically moves to pull his hand away. Now that they've reached their apparent destination, they have no reason to keep their hands clasped. Sure, it feels nice, but it's not like it had any other purpose. To his confusion, though, Jeremy doesn't let go. His movement ends with him just tugging on Jeremy's hand. Michael lets his arm drop again, and he looks up at his friend questioningly. Said boy is already staring back, face red. He seems to be watching for Michael's reaction for some reason, and Michael's just trying to catch up. 

 

He immediately pushes away the thought that Jeremy is flirting or something, because that thought is a) never helpful because it's b) never true. The more logical explanation is that Jeremy is having one of his Bad Days. The days where he needs reassurance that everything's okay, and that Michael's still there. On those days, he tries to keep contact with everyone he cares about, just to make sure they're not slipping away. These days have been appearing less and less, but they're definitely still there. It saddens Michael to know that the effect the squip had on Jeremy will probably never fully fade. 

 

In light of this new conclusion, Michael squeezes his hand and smiles back at him. Jeremy looks weirdly relieved and squeezes his hand back, suddenly looking much happier than he did before. Michael finds it odd how he reacted to Michael's reciprocation, because he should know by now that Michael will always be there for him. He doesn't think there's anything in the world that could change that. He resolves to invite Jeremy over again soon to show how much he likes being around him, and continues on the walk with the others, still hand-in-hand with Jeremy.

 

He sees Rich give him a smirk out of the corner of his eyes, and he sticks his tongue out at him. Michael sort of regrets telling him about his crush, because Rich is definitely one to tease him about it, but it's nice to have someone to rant to about it sometimes. He feels his face warm and he tries his best to push it down. This is the longest he's ever held hands with Jeremy, and it feels really good. It's like they fit perfectly, and their hands were made for each other. Michael crinkles his nose a little at that cheesy thought and again shoves it away. Focus. This is just... platonic hand holding. It doesn't mean anything, they're just very close friends. Besides, Jeremy's straight as a ruler, and he seems to not have a care in the world right now, so he probably doesn't even think anything of it. Michael repeats the phrase to himself over and over again.

 

_It doesn't mean anything._

 

No matter how much he wants it to.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time it happens, it's a little more unusual.

 

The gang's over at Michael's house, and Jeremy gets up to use the bathroom. Jake and Rich are involved in what appears to be a very competitive game of Mario Kart, and they're sitting on the two bean bags. Everyone else is watching in amusement. Jenna's sitting on one side of the couch, and Chloe and Brooke take up the rest of it. Jeremy had previously been sitting in the middle, but the girls are quick to absorb the space he leaves behind the second he stands. Michael and Christine sit cross-legged in front of the couch, a bowl of snacks in between them. 

 

Michael's in the middle of grabbing a handful of Doritos, but he looks up at the door when Jeremy comes back in. He stares at the couch for a minute, and Michael follows his line of sight up to where his spot used to be. There's no way he can sit there now, and the girls show no sign of moving or remorse. Michael's gaze drifts back to the still-standing Jeremy, only to find that the other is looking straight (badum-chhh) at him. He shrugs and mouths 'sorry' for the loss of his spot, but Jeremy doesn't look bothered at all. In fact, he looks almost happy, which Michael doesn't really understand. He looks away and starts scanning the room for another space to suggest Jeremy sit in, but his thought process is utterly and completely destroyed by one fluid motion on Jeremy's part.

 

He sits in his lap.

 

Michael lets out a strangled noise of surprise and his mind goes on red alert. _This is not a drill, stay calm, I repeat, REMAIN CALM._ He's taken aback by the sudden weight on top of him, not to mention the source of that weight. The guy he'd been dreaming of for _years_ is sitting on his lap right now, and he's so freaking warm, too. Jeremy turns his head and smiles back at him, and Michael gathers all the skills he's earned over the course of his high school career to send what was hopefully a casual smile in return. As Jeremy turns away again, Michael resumes his freakout. This doesn't have to be weird, right? Is this weird?

 

_How does Jeremy not see this as weird?_

 

His mind is working overtime trying to reason this out. There has to be an explanation for this. To be fair, there wasn't really much room to sit anywhere else. The other spaces on the floor would be uncomfortably squished. It would have been awkward for Jeremy to sit on Christine, because they're still technically exes, even if they're friends now. He and Jeremy never really had boundaries anyways, and it's not like his view of the screen is blocked. Yeah, that must be it. Jeremy just sat here for comfort and convenience, and he doesn't realize how non-platonic the action is. Jeremy does that all the time.

 

Michael spends the rest of the night trying not to make this any more awkward than it has to be and avoiding the looks the others were giving them. How does Jeremy not see that?

 

Damn straight people.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A week after that, Michael has mostly pushed the incident out of his head, trying hard not to make it into something it isn't. It's right after school, and the squad has plans to watch the new Spider-Man movie. Of course, theatre food is super expensive, so Michael insists they stop by 7/11 to get snacks and sneak them in. Everyone agrees, and they roam the aisles picking out small bags of chips and candy bars, trying not to grab more than they can stuff into their shirts, pockets, or purses later.

 

They're all paying for themselves, and Michael's indecisiveness leads to everyone else waiting next to him as he places his stuff onto the counter. They don't have a lot of time, so he goes immediately for his pocket, not looking up. Still, he reasons, this is no reason to be rude, so he mutters out a greeting.

 

"Hey." Comes the response, surprisingly flirty.

 

Michael freezes, brows furrowed in confusion as he looks up, because there's no way he heard right. People don't really hit on him, like, at all. And wow, the cashier is actually pretty attractive, with bright green eyes and styled blonde hair. Cashier Guy ('Alex', according to his name tag) licks his lips suggestively and very obviously looks Michael up and down, undressing him with his eyes. Michael feels himself instantly flushing a bright red, a blush that could probably rival Jeremy's, which is saying something. He's not used to this type of attention in any way, shape, or form, so he swallows and busies himself looking down at his wallet. Yeah, the guy is good-looking, but he also looks older and Michael just wants to hang out with his friends today.

 

"So," The guy starts, forcing Michael to look back up at him. "You like Apocalypse of the Damned?"

 

He motions to a patch on Michael's hoodie, and Michael finds himself automatically smiling excitedly at the mention of what he considers to be the best game ever.

 

"Yeah, I love that game! I spend hours in my room trying to beat it. Do you play?" He asks, momentarily forgetting their previous interaction in favor of talking about AotD with someone who isn't Jeremy.

 

"No, but I've heard of it. I'd seriously consider playing if it meant I got to spend hours in your room, though."

 

And there he goes again. Michael's grin slips off his face and he chuckles uncomfortably. This guy was really laying it on thick. How desperate was he? Still, in a way, that was Michael's fault. He walked right into that trap, and he basically set it up for the guy. Why would he mention his room anyways? He became an idiot whenever he went on one of his enthusiastic rants. Hopefully, this guy doesn't have too many shifts at this 7/11, or else Michael will have to find a new one.

 

Jake clears his throat loudly and the cashier Alex looks over at them sharply, as if he'd forgotten that they were there.

 

"Uh," Jake starts, looking at Michael urgently. "We have to go, the movie's starting soon."

 

"Yeah! It is." Michael looks at him gratefully, pulling out the rest of the money he needs to pay. "I'll try to hurry up, I guess."

 

Now that he's looking over at his friends, he sees that he's not the only one weirded out by this exchange. Jake looks distinctly uncomfortable, shuffling a bit and trying to look anywhere but at the cashier, and Jenna's engaged in an intense staring contest with her phone. Rich and Chloe look pissed at the guy, and Brooke's sending Michael a look he wishes he understood. Meanwhile, Christine is looking sympathetic to a very unhappy Jeremy who looks like he'd spontaneously set the guy on fire if he could. Michael finds Jeremy's reaction a little odd.

 

He probably feels jealous that someone else is trying to take up Michael's time, since they spent a lot of their days together. Or maybe he noticed how Michael doesn't appreciate the attention. Jeremy gets protective over him sometimes, which Michael does appreciate, because it makes him feel like he's special to him.

 

As he hands the money over, he feels himself shiver at the way the other man's hand drags unnecessarily across his wrist. He accepts the receipt from Cashier Guy Alex and pretends not to see the numbers scribbled onto it.

 

"Call me." Michael forces another awkward laugh in lieu of a response as he hurries to grab his things and leave.

 

The others are quick to follow him, and Michael lets out a sigh of relief once they're a decent distance away from the store. Everyone's silent for a moment, and Rich is the first to break the tension.

 

"Well, that was awkward." He says lowly, and everyone makes noises of agreement.

 

"Who the hell did that guy think he was? He looked like he was late twenties, and Michael's clearly still in high school. What a fucking creeper." Chloe says, crossing her arms. Again, everyone nods along, even Christine, who usually stays out of any shit-talking the group does. This makes Michael feel warm inside. It feels like he's one of them, and it's times like this that he can tell they care about him.

 

"Are you okay?" Christine asks him, and everyone turns to see his response.

 

"Ah, well," He laughs uncomfortably again, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I'm not really used to that kind of attention, and he was putting it on strong, but, y'know. I'm fine. I mean, thank god you guys were there."

 

He says it lightly, but the others nudge him and smile supportively. Jeremy still looks really upset, so he keeps talking as he bumps his shoulder affectionately.

 

"Ah, why would I waste my time with that guy anyways, when I could spend it destroying Jeremy in Smash Bros? I already have a player two, and that's enough for me."

 

Jeremy brightens up, smiling at him. It seems for a moment like he's leaning in, but that's not possible. Michael must be imagining things, so he turns his head to look at the others instead.

 

"Come on, guys, Spider-Man won't watch itself, now, will it?"

 

 

When he turns back to look at Jeremy, he almost looks disappointed, but he couldn't be. Michael must be making it up again, right? He smiles once more when Michael slings an arm over his shoulders and starts ranting about the new movie. 

 

Michael tries his best not to notice how Jeremy leans into him more than he used to.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It takes another two weeks for Michael to catch on to what's really happening. They're having a small party at Rich's place, and it's late enough that they've moved on from the shitty party games and beer to watching a movie with popcorn. This time, Michael and Jeremy are taking up the couch, and everyone else is haphazardly spread across the floor in whatever position they deem comfortable. Jeremy's on Michael's left with his legs pulled up to his chest, and Michael's ignoring the way he keeps looking over at him. After all, how can he pry his eyes away from the beauty that is Sharknado long enough to see why?

 

Eventually, though, the movie credits start rolling, and everyone starts chatting with each other.

 

"Well, my night is made. We just watched possibly the best, most accurate film in the history of mankind." Michael jokes, getting a few chuckles from those that were listening.

 

"Hey, Michael?" Jeremy says quietly, and Michael turns his head to look at him.

 

Then, Jeremy leans forward and kisses him. Michael jerks away instinctually, more out of confusion than actual hesitance to kiss him. He makes a choked noise of bewilderment, and Jeremy looks mortified.

 

"Oh my god, I-I am so sorry, Michael! I just thought, you know, that we were at that point in our relationship, but I totally should have asked, and-"

 

"Woah, woah, woah." Michael interrupts, waving his hands in the air in a 'time-out' motion. "What do you mean, 'our relationship'?"

 

Kissing isn't something friends do, is it? Michael's suddenly far more confused. Jeremy's face contorts as well and he looks at Michael oddly.

 

"Our... relationship. Michael, come on. We've been dating for a month now."

 

"What?!" Michael cries, completely taken aback. This was news to him. At this point, everyone's attention is on them, watching intensely.

"Jeremy." Michael lowers his voice, but he realistically knows the others can probably still hear him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

 

Jeremy's face drains of color and he looks like he wants the floor to swallow him alive.

"Michael, that's not funny." Brooke reprimands him, to his increasing bewilderment. "I think you're really freaking him out."

 

"I'm sorry?" Michael tries, searching their faces for some kind of explanation. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I honestly don't know what the _hell_ you guys are talking about. Jeremy and I aren't dating. Are we?"

 

He turns to Jeremy as he says the last part, and Jeremy gapes at him before speaking.

 

"You-you didn't know? I-I know we never said it aloud, but I thought... I mean I've been... you didn't know?" Michael shakes his head, and Jeremy looks like he's about to vomit.

 

"Oh my god." He chokes out, looking horrified as he scrambles up and runs out the door.

 

Michael's frozen on the couch, staring at where Jeremy had been sitting. He blinks, then he looks over at the others, who stare back at him. It takes a solid minute for his brain to process what just happened, then it hits him like a train.

 

"Oh my god." He repeats Jeremy's words, hurrying to the door. He pauses for a second as he opens it, turning quickly to face Rich.

 

"Uh, thanks for inviting us, dude!" He rushes out, and then he's gone, and the others share incredulous and concerned looks.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael runs all the way to Jeremy's house, which he realizes halfway there is stupid because he drove to Rich's place. He can't just stop and turn around, though, so he keeps going. He's panting hard by the time he knocks on the front door, and a concerned Mr. Heere greets him as he opens it. He only looks a little surprised at Michael's sudden appearance.

 

"Michael! Do you know why Jeremy's upset?" He asks, and Michael notes the confirmation that Jeremy did indeed return to his own house.

 

He pushes past Jeremy's dad with a quick 'yup'.

 

"Should I be worried?" Michael's already two-thirds of the way up the stairs when he asks this, but he pauses and looks back anyway.

 

"Probably not, but I'll get back to you on that." He admits, before continuing up to Jeremy's room.

 

Jeremy's curled up in his bed, crying, and Michael feels his heart break.

 

"Hey, Jer." He says softly, closing the door behind him.

 

Jeremy shoots up and looks at him with wide eyes, surprised that he followed him.

 

"Michael, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to force anything on you, I swear. I've been such an idiot. Are you mad at me?" He looks so sad and scared, and Michael makes his way over to his bed.

 

"No, Jer, I'm not mad at you. I'm just surprised, I guess. I'm the real idiot here for not seeing it. Or should I say... 'Heere'?" Jeremy cracks a small smile and scoffs wetly, and Michael grins at the accomplishment. "Um, can I ask... when we apparently started dating?"

 

Jeremy's face immediately falls in embarrassment, and Michael almost regrets asking. Almost. He still wants answers, okay? Sue him.

 

"A month ago, I asked you out to lunch, and you said yes. I thought you knew it was a date." Jeremy says, playing with his hands.

 

Michael's mouth opens in realization as he remembers the moment.

***

_Michael's just chilling by his locker before school, grabbing what he needs for his first few periods. He bobs his head along to the music flowing through his headphones, but slips them off when he notices Jeremy's presence._

 

_"Hey, dude." He greets, and Jeremy returns it nervously._

 

'That's weird.'  _He thinks, looking his friend over. He's flushed red and seems to be sweating a lot. Ew. His grip on his backpack straps is so tight his knuckles are turning white, and Michael looks at him curiously._

 

_"Everything okay?" He asks, and Jeremy waves him off with a forced smile._

 

_"Yeah, totally. Everything's fine."_

 

_"Okay." Michael says suspiciously, eyeing him. "But if you need anything, you know I'll always be here to help."_

 

_Jeremy looks a little calmer, and Michael takes a moment to feel proud of his superior best friend skills in action._

 

_"Uh, I was just wondering..." Jeremy's voice cracks, and Michael pretends not to notice as he cringes. "Would you, maybe, want to... I don't know, go out for lunch? Just the two of us?"_

'Oh.' _Michael thinks, relaxing. Is that it? To be fair, the cafeteria food kind of sucks, and it'd be nice to spend some quality time alone with his best friend without their sudden new friend group tagging along all the time._

 

_"Okay, sure." He responds back. Jeremy's probably just a little overwhelmed with all the people and trying spend a day like they used to. Michael can get behind that._

_Jeremy looks extremely relieved and grins, blushing. Michael's not sure why, but Jeremy just seems overall happier for the rest of the day. He's way less nervous than he was earlier, and everyone else seems cheerier too. Rich even pats him on the back during lunch for some reason._

 

'Hmm.'  _He thinks to himself during lunch, as all his friends smile and joke around._ 'Maybe it's just a good day.'

***

"Oohhhhhh, I get it now. 'Just the two of us'. I should have realized you said the same thing to Christine when you asked her out." He nods to himself, wondering how he's been so blind to all of this. For once, he was the oblivious one.

 

"And all the dates we had after that?" Jeremy asks hesitantly, and Michael shrugs helplessly.

 

"Ahhh, I kinda just thought we were hanging out?" Jeremy groans and buries his face in the pillow he holds tightly to his chest.

 

"I held your hand, Michael. For god's sake, I-I sat in your lap!" His voice is muffled, but Michael can still hear his embarrassed tone of disbelief.

 

"Yeah. Yeah, you did. That makes a lot more sense now." He responds simply, and Jeremy whimpers, absolutely mortified.

 

"Again, I am so sorry, Michael, I completely understand you don't feel the same way. I'll uh. I'll get over it eventually." Jeremy sounds completely wrecked, and Michael has never felt worse in his entire life for making him feel like that.

 

"Maybe you don't have to." He says quietly, because it's still scary to admit his feelings even though he knows now that Jeremy feels the same. Jeremy's breath hitches.

 

"What do you mean?" He looks up, eyes tinted red.

 

"Jer, would you like to go out with me? For real this time?"

 

"Really?" Jeremy sounds hopeful, and Michael can't believe this is actually happening to him.

 

"Yeah, really. I would love to be your boyfriend, you know, as long as I know it's happening." Jeremy lets out a wet chuckle and nods.

 

He leans forward a little, his eyes glancing up to Michael's for confirmation. Michael nods slowly, looking down at his lips, and that's enough for Jeremy as he closes the distance between them. It's not exactly the fireworks or explosions you read about, but it's so  _them_ and it feels so right that suddenly neither can remember what it felt like to live without being able to do this. Michael's convinced he's never felt better in his entire life.

 

And, for once, everything gets to be perfect. 

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! I have been weirdly productive recently, so take this other random fic I just wrote. I have a lot of ideas for fics in my head, so. Here. (Heere, heh)
> 
> I hope you liked it, and as always, please comment! I really appreciate them and it motivates me to keep writing. Thank you!
> 
> P.S. Don't ask me why the Squip Squad is in each of the scenarios, I don't actually know. I didn't realize until after I planned it and was writing it out that every example of Jeremy being affectionate just happened to involve them. Needless to say, there were moments in between these where they were alone and Jeremy thought they were on a date and stuff, they're just not included.


End file.
